Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday gets an earful from blogging parents over his remark on inner city family life.

Michael Barclay, with 18-month-old son Leonard on his lap, plays a public piano in Trinity-Bellwoods Park in a photo on his wife's tumblr posting to Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday about inner-city family life.

Downtown parents are scolding Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday for his “disturbing” notions of what growing up in the inner city is all about.

They’ve taken to a “tumblr” — a cross between social media and blogging — called Downtown Kids to email their thoughts to the Etobicoke-residing Holyday who, last week at Toronto city council, declared that downtown Toronto is no place to raise children.

“Where will these children play? On King St.?” Holyday said in reaction to a push to have a condo developer include family-friendly, three-bedroom units in a proposed 47-storey tower at King and John Sts. “I mean, I could just see now: ‘Where’s little Ginny?’ ‘Well, she’s downstairs playing in the traffic on her way to the park!’ ”

“We live near Dupont and Spadina,” writes Downtown Kids contributor Marc Hollin, who includes photos of his cherubic son Jasper barefoot in a city park.

“As you can see, he’s a pretty happy little guy, and I can’t think of a safer, more exciting, engaging and wonderful place to raise him than here in Toronto. He loves riding the subway and streetcar, and has a blast touring around in his bike trailer. We live within a 10-minute walk of five or so great parks, and Jasper is especially fond of longer trips to High Park or Harbourfront (he loves the sail boats).

Helen Spitzer, who launched the tumblr webpage, explained it to the Star.

“Some of these people have never written to city hall before,” she said. “I wanted to poke holes in (Holyday’s) idea that downtown is dangerous and unlivable, and that, even in the very core of downtown, there are families, there are playgrounds, there are little streets.

“But I also wanted to show that the outlying areas are not this monolithic idealized fantasy world that people are talking about when they talk about the suburbs. There are all kinds of issues in the suburbs.”

Spitzer has lived in the Queen and Ossington neighbourhood since 2007 with her partner Michael Barclay, who was raised in Scarborough.

Her online posting has a photo of Barclay in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, sitting with their 18 month-old son Leonard on his lap at one of the 41 painted pianos placed around town for the Pan Am games.

“Michael played ‘The Entertainer’ (my request) for folks passing through on their way to work,” she wrote to Holyday via the tumblr. “The piano got the attention of a woman walking with her three kids. Her daughter sidled up to play ‘Fur Elise.’ A lot of people looked up to see who was playing piano as they walked by. Everyone was smiling. It reminded me of why I love this city.”

Other parents tell of petting animals at Riverdale Farm, cycling on Centre Island, skating at Nathan Phillips Square and other downtown activities, while praising the ease of getting around by foot, bike or transit.

“I don’t think anybody is saying that downtown is better than other places,” Spitzer said. “They’re just saying that this was their choice and they like it.

“(Holyday), who has a 1950s idea of what living in the city is and what raising a family is, is telling me how I should live and that I shouldn’t raise my children here. He’s a fool. He humiliated himself by making that statement because it’s really obvious to many people that he’s wrong.”

Spitzer, who grew up in Guelph, feels many city councillors are out of touch with what is really going on in Toronto.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.